Welcome

You came to us as summer struck: a race

to organize, to get to know you quick.

You had to learn new people, and a place

you'd never been. The pressure on to "click"

with us was palpable; we saw it in

your smile (tense), your body (on alert).

The days got longer; things began to spin.

We saw the ways in which you had been hurt;

the scars a life of pain and shame had left.

As summer burned, so did our newfound bond;

before too long had past, we found a cleft,

a crack between us. Tempted to abscond,

we buckled in instead - but it was you,

afraid, but brave, whose trust did pull us through.